"Rita, why did you stop me?"
A voice from the portable communicator halted Durandal's next move.
Before the young Brian had finished speaking, her intuition told her that if she let him complete his action, something unexpected might happen.
A mission failure alone was acceptable; after all, the Overseer hadn't ordered its completion at any cost.
The real problem would be if her negligence caused harm to the city beneath her feet.
But her adjutant had stopped her before she could react.
It was incomprehensible.
In the ruined Immortal Blades temporary camp, the Valkyrie Rita Rossweisse watched the distant scene on the monitor, thankful for her own caution.
If she hadn't been keeping a constant eye on Durandal's movements, perhaps she would have already mercilessly cut down Kiana and the others.
Stopping Cocolia was one of the Immortal Blades' tasks on this trip, but it was not the most important one.
The Schicksal Overseer, considering that Durandal was not yet fully mature, had only told Rita the truth of the mission, letting her guide Durandal.
Now, it was time to tell her the truth.
She just hadn't expected this moment to come so soon.
"Lady Durandal, retrieving the vessel of the Gem of Conquest is only one of our objectives. We have a more important mission to complete."
The blonde girl watched as a dangerous aura emanated from the snow-haired girl. Her super-brain, honed for combat, presented her with a hypothesis.
"Our mission must be related to that girl, right?"
"Lady Durandal, you are as brilliant as ever."
"Rita, hurry up."
"Yes, Lady Durandal." Rita stopped teasing. "The Lord Overseer also has a plan similar to Cocolia's, but compared to that woman's plan, his is longer-term and gentler."
A glimmer of understanding appeared in Durandal's eyes.
"Protecting this city is our mission on the surface, but our more important task is to ensure the safety of the target, allowing her to form stronger emotional bonds with the people around her."
"To make her a Herrscher who belongs to humanity, or a human who can wield a Herrscher's power."
Their long-standing rapport allowed Durandal to clearly grasp the deeper meaning in Rita's words.
Feelings don't appear out of thin air; they are the accumulation of various experiences.
To make Kiana Kaslana, the Herrscher's vessel, develop deep feelings for others, they needed to go through various difficulties together and then overcome those challenges together.
There is no stronger bond than one forged in the crucible of life and death.
In other words, they needed a suitable trial, using hardship to temper the golden bonds of their feelings.
And she, the S-rank Valkyrie carrying out this mission, was the natural choice for the job.
In that case...
"Teacher Theresa, my apologies!"
It all happened in a flash.
The highly efficient Durandal completed her move in an instant.
Since the goal was to cultivate their feelings and make herself the flame that tempers the true gold, she had to apply sufficient external force.
A strong gust of wind struck. Theresa, whose attention had shifted to Kiana, could only use Judah to parry the blow, buying time for the others.
"Don't just stand there, run!"
As soon as her voice fell, the dangerous aura around Kiana soared to its peak.
A brilliant light shone from the vacant eyes of the girl, allowing Her Majesty the Queen to feel the light again after many years.
"Hmph, how foolish."
The cold and arrogant girl looked down on everyone with equal disdain, about to make the world herald her return with a chorus of wails.
But when she got a clear look at the scene...
The likes of the young Brian could be ignored. The Gem of Conquest was a welcome sight.
But that familiar shorty and that hateful golden cross...
Theresa: Should I smash the half-ton Judah on the Herrscher of the Void's head?
Durandal: The Herrscher's awake. Should I give her a dose of physical amnesia?
Herrscher of the Void: "..."
She might as well go back to sleep. Just pretend she was never here. She was just sleepy, definitely not because she couldn't afford to provoke the shorty holding the Divine Key right now.
The danger came and went quickly. The snow-haired girl's eyes returned to their usual azure blue.
Completely vacant.
The young Brian, who had long anticipated this development, didn't hesitate and immediately activated his ability again.
"Kiana, quick, use your power to send us to a safe place!"
"You have to believe in yourself, believe you can do anything!"
"..."
That's right, I can do anything!
Snap—!
The snow-haired girl snapped her fingers, and a spatial portal to another coordinate immediately opened beneath their feet.
Everyone except Durandal lost their footing, unwillingly falling into the abyss.
By the time they came to their senses, they had been teleported to some unknown corner of Nagazora City.
"We're safe."
The snow-haired girl's knees buckled, and she collapsed into the young Brian's arms as if she had no bones.
Theresa confirmed that the Herrscher had not awakened and immediately contacted the Hyperion to come for pickup.
Delays could lead to trouble. Leaving the Far East island nation as soon as possible was the only way to protect these children.
...
Back at the original location, the valiant Valkyrie activated her 3rd-generation Valkyrie battlesuit, using its thrusters to avoid falling into the abyss.
Durandal did not give chase. There was no need to press the attack.
After all, even forging iron requires quenching and other processes.
"Rita, can you track their location?"
A voice came from the other end of the communicator: "Lady Durandal, I think our priority now should be dealing with Anti-Entropy here, rather than making things difficult for Lady Theresa."
"Alright, you decide."
The Valkyrie turned, stepping over the two lifeless Herrscher clones.
Kiana was part of the Schicksal Overseer's plan and could be left alone for now. But Anti-Entropy's mischief here needed a good, hard rap on the knuckles.
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